anyone with a 2009 Panasonic plasma? that would be:TC-PxxX1TC-PxxS1TC-PxxG10TC-PxxV10

Late in the model year it was discovered that the MLL (the blackest the tv can get) would rise dramatically at predetermined intervals - after 300 hours, 1000 hours, etc. There was even a class action suit related to it. The idea was to raise the level as the set got older and dimmer. The problem was that the levels tripled very abruptly. This is most noticeable when watching in a dark room.

Some genius in Germany figured out how to program a simple microcontroller to hack the tv and tell it there are zero hours on it - thus resetting the original MLL. I did it to my tv yesterday and the results are truly amazing. It was very easy to do with a few pieces from Radio Shack and it will make your tv look brand new.

neophool wrote:wow. bummer, was all set to get a panasonic plasma this black friday. black levels are paramount to me.

I wouldn't not get one. I can imagine 55" ST60 selling for $1000 Thanksgiving week - that would be an incredible deal.

Its not like Panasonic is going away (they have officially denied this report since Engadget and Reuters ran with it). But they are just losing money on every plasma they make. TV sales in general have trended down for two years and plasma even more so.

If they have a few sets that are profitable for them I think they should continue making them as is, with minor tweaks to the internet apps and media players - the same as they will for their LED line going forward. That will give customers another good option until OLED becomes more mainstream.

neophool wrote:wow. bummer, was all set to get a panasonic plasma this black friday. black levels are paramount to me.

I wouldn't not get one. I can imagine 55" ST60 selling for $1000 Thanksgiving week - that would be an incredible deal.

Its not like Panasonic is going away (they have officially denied this report since Engadget and Reuters ran with it). But they are just losing money on every plasma they make. TV sales in general have trended down for two years and plasma even more so.

If they have a few sets that are profitable for them I think they should continue making them as is, with minor tweaks to the internet apps and media players - the same as they will for their LED line going forward. That will give customers another good option until OLED becomes more mainstream.

Reuters published a report last week saying they were going to quit production as early as March. That is inline with a report made a year or more ago saying Panasonic would end R&D on plasma sets. They bought all of Pioneers industry leading plasma patents but from what I understand most of it has never been implemented because of production cost.

Panasonic has basically waived off the story saying they are reviewing their plasma strategy and have made no decisions. But its clear they need to do something - their tv division is a perennial money loser.

They are big in the commercial display area - airports, conference rooms, tv studios, stuff like that. The 85" and 103" sets have been popular on the high end in homes.

interesting, thanks for the info. i'm so tempted to get a panasonic plsma ST series 60 inch on black friday if I can get a good deal. It would be my first HDTV. I'm currently using either a blurry 20 year old 27 inch CRT, or my computer monitor to watch Pens games.

Its official no 2014 plasma tvs. no plasma tvs of any sort going forward from Panasonic.

Somehow it's Lehman Brothers fault. You know, that investment bank that went kerplunkt over five years ago:

“with the rapid development of large-screen LCDs, and facing the severe price competition in the global market brought on by the Lehman Shock in September 2008, the company consolidated production in the Amagasaki P4 Factory, made a shift towards commercial applications and worked to improve the earnings of the business.”

pittsoccer33 wrote:Some genius in Germany figured out how to program a simple microcontroller to hack the tv and tell it there are zero hours on it - thus resetting the original MLL. I did it to my tv yesterday and the results are truly amazing. It was very easy to do with a few pieces from Radio Shack and it will make your tv look brand new.